If the iPad Is a Big iPod Touch, then People Are Just Smart Monkeys

“If the iPad Is a Big iPod Touch, then I Am a Smart Monkey” - @rstevens\ \ I do not consider myself an early adopter of gadgets. I waited until the second generation iPhone before I bought one. Why did I buy the iPad on day of the launch?

Two reasons:\ 1) It’s a new paradigm in computing. Yes, tablet PCs have been out for over a decade. Apple didn’t bring anything new to the table. Or did they? You see, all of the previous tablet PCs had an OS that wasn’t designed for touch. Touch was an afterthought. Since I’m an entrepreneur, I wanted this device in my life. I wanted to see what problems it would solve for me. If it solves problems for me, it likely will solve problems for others.\ \ 2) Reflect7 has developed iPhone software. In fact, iPhone software has been the source of 100% of our revenue. It makes sense for us to consider applying our knowledge to the iPad.\ \ How did it benefit me as an entrepreneur?\ \ 1) Reading - I love to read… though I don’t read as much books as I would like. I spend a lot of my time reading reading business and tech blogs. I want to read more books. I may have 15 to 20 minutes of down-time a day, time where I’m in an office waiting for someone, waiting for my son’s sports to end, waiting… waiting… waiting. Now that I carry my iPad wherever I go, I can read. Ya, I could’ve read books on my iPhone… but the screen size doesn’t lend itself well to reading.\ \ 2) Reading - Did I mention that I love to read? iBooks is an amazing app. My only complaint is that it doesn’t have annotations. I like that I can highlight sentences and easily find them later. I like how I can go back to each book and it opens right where I left off. \ \ 3) Miscellaneous Tasks\ a) Sketching - I’m not the next Picasso. Not even close. I have trouble with stick figures. Often, I find myself sketching user interfaces for clients on notepads. Now, I with SketchBook or ArtStudio I can mock very simple UIs for clients.\ b) Wolfram Alpha - If you haven’t used Wolfram Alpha yet, you’re missing out! I love having financial calculators, stock info, mathematical info, nutritional info, and pretty much everything else you can think of in one application! Yes, I know there is a web app. Entrepreneurs need easy access to information.\ \ Do you need to buy an iPad for your business? No…. you’ll be fine without one. Should you buy an iPad for your business? Absolutely. This is a device that you won’t know what it can and will do for you until you own it. I highly encourage you to read the Daring Fireball and Ars Technica articles about the details of the iPad and Macworldarticle about its shortcomings.\ \ You’re probably thinking… “but JP this article sucks, you only mention some tasks that can still be done on an iPhone!” Did I mention that I’m just a Smart Monkey?

You can follow me on Twitter @jprichardson

-JP

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-JP